8 September 2017

Romeo and Juliet

Last month, the English National Ballet brought the world's greatest love story to the Royal Festival Hall for five nights only. Celebrating 40 years since its creation, Rudolf Nureyev’s award-winning Romeo & Juliet tells Shakespeare's heartbreaking tale through intense choreography and a dramatic score from Sergei Prokofiev.

The colourful costumes and sumptuous set designs transport you to Renaissance Verona with the grand Capulet ball, bustling market square and the rivals' tense sword fights and street brawls. Isaac Hernández and Erina Takahashi portray the star-cross’d lovers wonderfully, with sensitive performances from the romantic balcony pas de deux and passionate bedroom scene - complete with 18 lifts - to their tragic final embrace. The Royal Festival Hall is a bit of odd venue for a ballet, but fantastic for classical concerts as the acoustics are great, and the ENB Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Gavin Sutherland, performed Prokofiev's lively score beautifully. The company has performed Nureyev’s critically-acclaimed, landmark production over 400 times around the world and you can catch the UK tour later this year.